Percy & Annabeth
by hakuna-matataa
Summary: Remake of the play by William Shakespeare. Two foolish teenagers, a forbidden love, and a feud destined to break them apart. Or... will it? xxPERCABETH!xx
1. Sunday Morning

**hey y'all(: so i was sitting down to write the next chapter of my OTHER new story "Olympus University" & i couldnt get this idea out of my head . so you know what ? Im gunna attempt to write two stories again ! & because its summer , i think i can do it !**

**this is a crossover of out beloved percy jackson & the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare . to set the scene a little , this story will take place in shakespeare time BUT the way that they think & talk will be more modern so it's easy to understand .**

**enjoy(:**

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**Percy's POV**

So there's this girl. Kind of.

I say "kind of" because any time that you hear a guy say that particular line, you can automatically assume that boy and that girl will end up together at the end of the story which, in this case, isn't actually true. I also say "kind of" because my history with this girl is just that—history.

But see, Calypso to me wasn't just a girl—she was a goddess. Or she should have been, at least. With her caramel-colored hair and her deep, seducing eyes, no one can blame me for falling head-over-heels for her. I am still a teenage boy after all.

To Calypso, however, my overly messy hair and average physique was...well, average. Her model looks and natural grace could get every hormonal teenage boy in Verona if she really wanted them too; all she would have to do is go up to the poor sucker, bat her eyes, and say, "Hey." _Boom. _That boy would be wrapped around her finger by dawn.

Unfortunately, I was that poor sucker.

But none of that mattered anymore now that she had moved on. She didn't care that she practically ripped my heart out of my chest. She didn't even sound the slightest bit hurt when she pulled me aside last week and broke up with me right then and there. She said it wasn't me, it was because she just didn't love me like I loved her. Of course, that only made it six times worse because that doesn't even make any sense. If she didn't love me, then _of course _it was me!

Then to top it all off, she told me that she was going to "live chaste." I had no idea what that meant at the time so I had to go home and ask my mom. Basically, she's vowing to never marry and to stay a virgin forever. Cool.

So now here I am—wondering the beach of fair Verona like I have been since dawn. In the distance, I briefly heard men yelling and horses that must have been racing towards the scene, more than likely with sheriff men perched on their backs, but I brushed it off being too lost in thought to care.

After another quarter mile or so, I started to wonder how much more sand could get into my shoes before I would be physically pushed out of them. I bent down and untied the laces.

"Morning, coz!"

I looked up to see my cousin, Nico, walking towards me. Back behind him, I faintly made out the outline of my dad before he turned into an alley.

"It's still morning?" I mumbled.

"Uh, yeah," he said. "It's nine."

"Oh. Guess I haven't really been keeping track. Was that my dad?" I asked pointing to the alley.

"Yes, it was." Nico sat down in the sand and gestured for me to join him. "But I'm not here to talk about him. What's up with you? You've been doing nothing but moping around for days."

I shrugged. "Break-ups are a weird thing, you know?"

Nico's eyes widened. "You guys broke up?" He paused for a second and leaned back on his hands. "Wait, I didn't even know you had a girlfriend."

I nodded. "I did. But not anymore." Behind me, I heard the familiar _clop clop clop _of horses walking down the streets. I turned to see about eight horses and around twenty sheriff surrounding a very angry-looking Zeus, prince of Verona, coming down the street. As he passed us, Nico caught his eye and Zeus snarled. I groaned. "Oh, my God. What happened?"

"Okay, it's not what you think," he defended.

"Uh huh, sure. Let me guess—you were involved?"

"Technically, yes, but I didn't start it! It was those damn Stoll brothers from the Chase house. They were talking smack about our family as a couple of our servants walked by. I found them fighting and tried to break it up but...then Clarisse came in."

I growled. "God, I hate her. What did she do?"

"She refused my offer to part peacefully, told me that she hated all Jacksons, and then we drew our swords. No one was hurt but this being the third time that 'our battles have disrupted the peace in fair Verona,' Prince Zeus wasn't too happy when he was summoned to us." He stood up and brushed the sand off of his pants. "We were told that if another civil brawl was to erupt again, Zeus will kill us. Like, actually."

I rolled my eyes and stood up as well. "I'm so sick of this stupid feud! It pretty much takes over my whole life. I can't even walk down the street without getting insults and glares from a Chase. Do we even know why this feud started?"

Nico looked like he was about to answer then he paused. "I actually have no idea. It happened centuries ago. I really don't think anyone knows except for maybe Lord Poseidon and Lady Athena. All I know is that we're supposed to hate the Chases and they're supposed to hate us."

"But that's so dumb," I said. "I don't get why we have to fight. Especially if we don't even know what we're fighting about! Why can't we all just love each other?"

Nico smirked. "You mean, that including your lost lover?"

"Oh, shut up, Nico. And she wasn't my lover; she was my _love_. There's a difference." I started to walk away but Nico stayed at my side.

"Let me guess," he said. "She vowed to live chaste?"

"You know what that means too?" I asked a little surprised. You see, Nico has never been what you would call "smart." Honestly, neither am I but we have different kinds of unintelligence—mine is more of the I-actually-have-no-physically-capability while his is more of the I-don't-give-a-crap-in-school kind. "Am I the only person who didn't know this?"

He shrugged. "Probably."

"Thanks, coz."

"No problem. But seriously, I can't stand to watch you throw your life away just for some girl." Nico turned slightly and started walking towards the town shops. Then with confidence, he said, "I'm going to find you a new girl."

I let out one sharp laugh. "Yeah, I'd love to see you try. There's no way you can top her. She was..." I sighed. "She was perfect."

Nico turned and looked me in the eyes. "I take that as a challenge, my friend."

* * *

Just forty-five minutes later and Nico had already downed a four-course lunch plus dessert. Even as a guy, I was totally disgusted. I could tell that the girls who were sitting behind us in the restaurant probably were as well because they got up and left before their food even came.

We walked out of the restaurant only to be met with glares from some townspeople. Apparently they don't like when there's a Jackson verses Chase battle to the death in their town. Weird, right?

Nico obviously noticed too because he just ducked his head and started down the street with me in tow. "You see," I said. "This is what I mean by 'takes over my life.'"

"Sirs!" Down the street, a petit girl was running towards us. She looked to be older than us, but her short legs and small frame made her look young. She was holding a parchment paper scroll. "Excuse me, sirs, but can you read? Either of you?"

"Barely," I answered. Nico stayed quiet.

"Oh," she said a little out of breath. "I'm sorry, it's just that I was never taught. But n-nevermind."

"No, no," I said. "Please. Here, I'll give it my best shot." I untied the scroll and read off a list: "'_Dionysus and his wife and sons; Piper McLean and her sisters; the lady oracle of Vitruvio Rachel; Apollo and his lovely nieces; Pan and his son Grover; my uncle Chase, his wife, and daughters; my niece Calypso; Lady Beauregard and her cousin Clarisse; Servants Connor and Travis Stoll.'" _As I was reading, I was able to pick out a few familiar names—one being my friend Grover, another being Clarisse, and a third being my lost love, Calypso. But the one that really brought it all together was the name that I had an unknowing hate for: Chase.

Yes, yes, I know I just went on a rant about how much it bugs me that we all hate each other for no reason, but Nico was right—this is the way it is. All Jacksons have grown up knowing that we hate the Chases and that was that.

"Okay, thank you, Sir," the girl said, looking very relieved.

"Hey, what's that list for anyway?" Nico asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"A dinner party."

"Where?"

"My master's house." She tucked away the list. "The great Lady Athena. And, hey, for helping me out, you should come. It's tonight."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

She smiled. "Of course! Just as long as you're not part of the Jackson house." She kind of giggled to herself as if this was the most ridiculous thought. "But anyway, thanks again. Goodbye."

After she had gotten a good distance away from us, Nico turned to me with a smirk. "Don't you just love when things work out?"

I already knew what he was thinking. "No, Nico. No way am I going to that party."

"And why not?"

"It's a Chase party!" I said obviously. "What if someone sees us?"

"Lady Athena never has parties without them being masquerade. We get a couple of masks and we'll be fine. Plus, listening to that list, I'll bet you anything there'll be chicks ten times hotter than your lost lover girl there."

"I doubt that highly." I sighed. "But fine—I'll go. But I'm not going to compare faces; I'm only going because according to that list, my exact lost love, Calypso, will be there. So don't be going and getting a big head about this."

"Oh, c'mon Percy," he said chuckling. "When do I ever get a big head?"

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**okay so im asking each & every one of you to review & tell me EXACTLY what you think even if it's totally brutal ! crossovers are hard enough but remaking a famous (& in my opinion, perfect) play is even harder so i want to make this as best as it can be ! -kenna(:**

**PS check out my other stories as well ! im posting the next chap to Olympus University tonight ! **


	2. Sunday Night

**In case you didn't know , in Shakespeare time , people didn't live very long . Like , you were lucky if you made it to 35 . so back then , people would get married very early**

**enjoy(:**

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**Annabeth's POV**

You know you have a pretty good life when you can swim in your own bathtub.

I dunked my head under the water and watched my own hair as it swirled around my head. Soap suds floated on the surface which gave the sun light beaming in a sort of rippled and spotted look to it.

"Annabeth!" I heard from somewhere far off. I broke the surface and took a deep breath.

"Yes?" I called back. No answer. "Thalia, who called for me?"

My life-long friend slash roommate was sitting on a chair in my room reading the newspaper. Thalia was a couple years older than me and was also my family's caretaker. Her dad died when she was very young—something we had in common—and, with no other men in her household, she needed to get a job to help save her mother and her. Ironically, her mom and her don't get along very well, so Thalia spends most of her life with us. My mom even gave her one of our guest rooms to call her own and said that she could use it whenever.

The only downside to Thalia being our caretaker is that she takes care...of me. I try not to look at her as being my babysitter, but that's basically what she is. I repeatedly tell my mom that I don't need a babysitter, but she insists that I'm "fragile." The good part to that, however, is that Thalia is totally chill and so it's like we're just hanging out all the time. It's not as annoying as it sounds considering the fact that she's my best friend.

Thalia put her feet up on the coffee table. "Your mom," she answered. "So get out of the bath and into a robe. No one needs to see you naked."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Bossy, bossy."

"Yes I am," she stated. "Now hurry up."

I jumped out of the tub, careful not to slip, then grabbed my robe that was hanging perfectly on a hook. "What, mom?" I called again.

I heard my mom's footsteps march into the room sounding the same as always: confident and powerful. "Ugh, there you are, Annabeth."

I shrugged. "Here I am."

"Don't get sassy with me, young lady." I really didn't think my comment was sassy, but that's just Athena for you; she's not one to mess with. The best way to have a conversation with her is just to keep your mouth shut the whole time and agree with anything she says. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay," I said. "What about?"

Athena looked flustered. "Eh, Thalia, you should go for a moment. I want to talk with my daughter in private." Thalia started to remove her feet from the table when Athena put up her hand. "Actually, on second thought, Thalia, you should hear this conversation. You probably know Annabeth even better than I do."

Thalia shrugged. "Yeah, probably."

I had to hold back a giggle from Thalia's blunt honesty. Athena didn't seem to notice. "Well, I just had a talk with this boy, Luke," she said. "And, yes, I know how young you are—"

"She's not even fourteen," Thalia added, not even looking up from her newspaper.

Athena turned to her. "Ah, but she will be in a fortnight."

We both just looked at her. "A fortnight, mom?" I said.

"Fine. She will be intwo weeks. Happy?"

"Still," Thalia said. "I hardly consider that of marrying age."

I blinked. "'Marrying age?' How'd you know that's what she wanted to talk about?"

Thalia's eyes glittered and she looked at me. "I know everything, kiddo."

"Or she just ease dropped on mine and Luke's conversation," Athena proposed. Thalia gave her classic shrug and went back to her business.

My mother looked slightly annoyed but ignored it. "Anyways, yes, what she said is true. Luke came to ask me...well, straight up, he wants to make you his bride."

Dang. That _was_ straight up. "I don't even know if I _want _to get married," I said. "I guess I never really thought about it." I mean, sure, the idea of having a man in my life sounded great, but that's just the girly romantic side of me talking. And trust me, that's a very small side of me.

"I think he's cute," Thalia said.

"Thalia, hush," Athena said angrily. Thalia just raised a finger in response as to say, _Will do. _"Anyways, Luke is going to be at the party tonight. I was hoping that you would at least look—decide if you even want him to be worth your time. If he is, I wouldn't want the wedding to be until you were fifteen anyways, so there's no rush."

I sighed. "Yeah, I guess I can check him out. But no promises that anything will come of it." This seemed to be a good enough answer to her question because for the first time in what seemed like forever, my mother smiled.

"Lady Athena?" a servant called as he walked into my room. He noticed me standing there in nothing but a silk robe and looked away. I awkwardly crossed my arms. "Lady Athena, the guests are all here and dinner is served. Many are asking for you and Annabeth. Please, come right away." He left hastily.

"Come, Thalia," my mother said, dropping her grin. "We should let Annabeth get ready. And honey, please hurry. I don't want to keep the guests waiting."

After she shut the door I took a breath. Just like always, I listened to my mother's wishes. Did I really have a choice?

* * *

**Percy's POV**

It was pretty easy for me and the other guys to sneak in the gates with the huge crowd of people to help disguise us. Getting into the actual doors won't be so easy.

"Okay, oh wise plan-maker," I said to Nico. "How are we supposed to get in?"

Nico shrugged. "Eh, we'll be fine. As long as we keep our masks on, it looks like we're supposed to be here. Besides, Grover actually _is_ supposed to be here."

Grover grabbed my shoulder. "He's right, so don't worry. This night is just to help you find a new girl! We'll go in, dance, mingle, eat, etcetera, and then we'll leave. Simple."

I shook him off. "Well it doesn't matter anyways. I don't even feel like dancing."

"And why not?"

"I'm...well I'm still upset—and it's not fun to dance when you're upset."

Grover and Nico both just looked at me and rolled their eyes. "Pussy," Nico said under a fake cough.

I punched him in the shoulder. "And anyways, I don't really think going is a good idea. I know this sounds weird, but I had a dream last night about it." Even just thinking about my dream made me shiver. I had had dreams before about anything and everything, but this one was different. It was more vivid and life-like than any typical dream that anyone could have had.

"So did I," Grover said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? What was yours about?"

Grover took a dramatic step backward and bowed his head. This earned a chuckle from all the guys. "I had a dream about how dreams aren't real—they're fake; a lie."

"Except that sometimes, dreams _are_ real," I tried to explain.

Grover held up his finger. "I see you've been visited by Queen Mab."

I stared blankly at him. "Who the hell is Queen Mab?"

He shrugged. "Eh, it doesn't matter. But anyways, we need to go."

"Yeah, seriously, Perce," Nico said. "They already finished dinner. I know these parties go until like two in the morning but still. And plus..." Nico ran his fingers through his hair. "I have to be home by ten."

I couldn't help myself—I started laughing. "Oh, shut up," Nico said, embarassed.

That put me in a better mood. Then my dream flashed in my mind—a scene of something happening at this ball that would lead me to my death. As dramatic as that sounded, it was true. I tried to push that aside and did my best to smile as I adjusted my mask and followed my friends to the party.

* * *

I wasn't expecting anything to come out of this party. I wasn't expecting Nico's plan to find a girl who somehow could top Calypso to work. So going into the mansion of the Chases, I didn't have high hopes.

Boy, were my expectations wrong.

"Holy shit." I tapped the shoulder of a servant close to me and asked, "Who's that?"

The man followed where I was pointing and shrugged. "I don't know, sir." He walked away.

Somehow, I had caught the eye of the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. If I had thought that I was ever in love with what's-her-face, then something was seriously wrong with me. And if I had ever thought that what's-her-face was gorgeous, well I just haven't seen true beauty until this night.

It felt cheesy and corny to say that it was love at first sight, but as she stared back at me, I didn't care how cheesy and corny I felt because it was the truth. I loved her and I didn't even know her name.

She was one of the only people in the house who wasn't wearing a mask. She had long, golden ringlets that fell with ease. Her skin even _looked_ soft and perfect and in that moment, I couldn't help but to want to see if my guess was right.

Unfortunately, at that moment, she was dancing with some tool.

However even as she spun effortlessly and was being pulled closer to the tool in each step, she didn't pay attention. All her focus was on me.

"Holy shit," I repeated.

A new song started up and the girl pulled away from the stooge. I slipped into the crowd, hoping to get to her without making a scene.

As I approached her, she was kind of raising her head over the crowd as if she were looking for something—or someone. I came up behind her, grabbed her hand (God, it was so soft and perfect), and pushed through the rest of the crowd into a hallway that was, at the moment, empty.

I turned to look at her and took off my mask. Now that I was closer, I noticed that her eyes were a stormy gray color. They were strong and confident but at the same time they were soft and beautiful. They fit her perfectly.

What I also noticed was her confused but also slightly embarrassed expression. But the way that she looked at me seemed almost as intense and passionate as I was looking at her. "Uhh," I started. "I'm, err, sorry about that."

She shook her head. "No, no. Don't be."

"I, err..." She just stared at me. The edge of her lips were fighting a smile. "I just wanted you to know how beautiful you look tonight."

She smiled. _God, even her teeth were perfect. _"Wow. Um, thank you."

I rubbed the back of my head. "And, err, sorry for, uh, dragging you...kind of."

She giggled. "Well, it wasn't the most gentlemanly thing ever."

I smirked and took a step back. "Hey, I am a _perfect_ gentleman."

She matched my smirk. "Oh, _sure_ you are."

She started to turn around when I stopped her. _What's life without a little risk?_ I thought as I took her hand again. "Indeed I am," I said. "You want to know how?"

"Yes. How?"

"Because," I wrapped my other arm around her waist. "If I wasn't a gentleman, I would have kissed you by now without asking your permission—but I am."

She raised an eyebrow. "Ask nicely."

With my eyes locked to hers and my heart beating so fast that it was as if I had just run around the world, I asked, "May I kiss you, my lady?"

She smiled softly and escaped my grasp. "You know, just holding a girl's hand should be enough for any guy. Holding hands is almost like a kiss."

"Except that it's not as special or memorable," I said. "My only question right now is why are you being so stubborn?"

At first, I debated on taking my comment back in fear that she would be offended, but her being perfect, she just smiled. "I'm a master at playing hard to get."

I smiled. "Oh, shut up. Kiss me." I stepped forward and landing my lips directly on hers and my heart beat even faster when I felt her kiss back. At that moment, I was flying and nothing else but her mattered.

I pulled back and felt her take a long breath. The warmth of it tickled my lips. "So," I said. "Hard to get, huh?"

She stuck her tongue out at me and didn't reply before pulling me back in for one more, which I graciously accepted. She put a little more force into this one, wrapping her arms around my neck and even playing with my hair. I ran my tongue along her bottom lip and she smiled before opening her mouth to let my tongue explore.

Her being her, she switched to her confident-gray side in an instant and fought for entrance to mine. And in my book, I always have to let the girl win, so I did.

"Annabeth!" a girl shouted down the hallway. We both pulled back and the girl let go of me, her cheeks pink.

"Annabeth?" I asked, but she didn't have time to answer because the other girl—a who looked a bit older than her and with dark hair instead of blonde—grabbed her wrist.

"Annabeth, you mother has been looking for you." Dark-haired girl shot me a look of both curiosity and horror before taking Annabeth back with her.

My gaze followed them until the end of the hall where I saw Lady Athena herself standing with the same confidence that Annabeth showed. Then I saw my lovely Annabeth go up to her and half-smile. Then. They. Hugged.

I gasped and stumbled back, running behind a column. "She's...She's a Chase?"

I peaked back around the column only to see Athena gone and dark-haired girl talking to Annabeth with a stern face. Annabeth's face looked probably just about as confused and shocked and hurt as mine did at the moment. The only words I could make out coming from dark-haired girl was my name—_Percy Jackson._

My eyes locked with Annabeth's for a moment or two. Neither of us ran towards the other, neither of us even blinked; we just stared. The only thing that I had on my mind was, _I'm in love with my enemy._

Then I turned around and left.

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**review review review -kenna(:**


	3. Early Monday Morning

**thanks to those who reviewed !: CrazyPeanutAttack, Gummi Bears Tried to Kill Me, PJObsessed, WisestOwl, Guest**

**enjoy the famous balcony scene(:**

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**Percy's POV**

Jacksons are known for being sly, graceful, and very quick-on-their-feet. They're very aware of what is going on around them and are smart...when they want to be.

I was...not.

"Ouch, son of a..." I whispered to myself for about the twentieth time after returning home, sneaking out, then proceeding to climb over the Chase's mansion wall. And I thought that getting past my guards would be the hardest part...no. It's this dumb wall that just so happened to have very course bushes on the other side that I didn't know about until landing in them.

Now, you may be wondering why I didn't look before jumping and I have a couple reasons: 1) It was dark so I couldn't see anyways, 2) It was late and I had a hard time keeping my eyes open as it was, and 3) I was hoping to get to Annabeth as quickly as possible.

I snuck as quietly as I could through rows and rows of grape vines. I didn't realize until then that I was still in my robes. By now, they were completely covered in mud and partially scratched up because of the bushes. My mom won't be too happy.

I turned a corner and my ankle got stuck in a gopher hole. In my attempt to get it out without making too much noise, I fell on my back. However, instead of getting up, I stayed on the ground.

It was the first time that I had sat (moderately) comfortable since I met Annabeth. When I got home, I just knew that I needed to see her again, Chase or not. I didn't even really know what I was hoping to accomplish when I left to come here. All that was on my mind was the thought of seeing her beautiful grey eyes again and that was all the drive that I needed.

I sighed and touched the corner of my lips, remembering how soft hers were on mine—how _right_ it felt. I had never had that much confidence to just go up to some girl and make out with her. I mean, saying it like that probably doesn't sound too good, but whatever.

I had never really believed in love at first sight, and I guess it would be clichéd to say that that changed after seeing Annabeth, but this girl already had me ignoring a long-lasting feud, breaking my parent's rules, and falling into bushes.

And I've only known her for two and a half hours.

"Ugh," I heard someone say from somewhere around me. I was quickly trying to hide myself with in the grape vines until I saw the glow of a candle coming from above me. I peered out to see Annabeth walking out on a balcony—and she didn't look happy.

Annabeth blew out the candle and sat down on the ledge of the balcony, dangling her legs in mid-air.

She rubbed her temples. "Why? Why of all things does he have to be a Jackson?" she mumbled to herself.

She leaned back on her hands and said, "I mean, I honestly don't even see why it's such a big deal in the first place; this isn't even our fight, so why does it matter?" I leaned forward, clinging on to every word.

"Honestly, Percy," she said, giggling to herself. "if I had the chance, I would swear myself to you and then we could both be Jacksons!" I really couldn't even believe what I was hearing—Annabeth was openly admitting that she hated this stupid feud as well and that she wanted to be with me.

_She wanted to be with me._

"The only thing that keeps me from being with you at this very moment is our names. But names don't really matter, when you really think about it. I mean, roses would still smell good even if they weren't called roses, right? And I'm sure you would still be just as perfect if you weren't a Jackson, so how about we make a deal: I'll ignore being a Chase if you ignore being a Jackson."

"Sounds like a plan," I said, stepping out of the vines. Annabeth nearly fell off of her balcony and screamed in the process.

"Annabeth?" I heard her mom calling from inside. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah, Mom, I'm fine," she called back while never breaking eye contact with me. "I just saw a spider."

I waited for the footsteps to fade away then cocked my head. "You're afraid of spiders?"

"Oh, shut up, Percy," she whispered. "But _Jesus_, you scared the fucking crap out of me! And..." She looked around for a moment as realization seemed to hit her. "Wait...Oh, my God, did you hear all of that?"

I shrugged. "Most of it."

Annabeth glared, but her lips pulling into a smile clearly showed that she was happy to see me as well. "What are you doing here?"

"I just needed to see you," I said. "And I wanted to tell you...well, pretty much everything that you just said. Do you talk to yourself on a regular basis?"

"Do you trespass on a regular basis?" she shot back while pointing to the flower fence on the other side of her balcony. "Here, climb up."

I figured that nothing could be worse than climbing up that wall, so I grabbed a hold of the slightly-worn wood and started climbing. As I pulled and did my best not to look down, I said, "So, you didn't answer my question about the talking-to-yourself thing."

She reached out her hand to help pull me up. It took me a moment or two, but I managed to sprawl over the ledge without tripping or falling back down. Annabeth just shook her head. "The answer to your question is no. Then again, usually I don't have strange boys hiding in my backyard who would hear it."

"Well then I should probably tell you that if you started dating me, you would have at least one in your back yard all the time. No promises that I won't bring friends."

She giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Well, for your sake, I hope you're good at hiding because let me tell you this: if my family sees you, they'll kill you."

I pursed my lips then turned towards her closed doors. As loud as I dared, I yelled, "I'd like to see them try!"

"Shh!" Annabeth warned well laughing.

"Annabeth?" Athena called again. Annabeth's face dropped like lead and pushed me up against the wall next to the doors. She took a step back just as the door cracked open. "Annabeth, _what_ is going on out here?"

"Oh, n-nothing, mother. Go back to bed. I'll be in in a minute." Annabeth sounded guilty and she even looked guilty, yet her mom just opened the door wider (which ended up swinging back and hitting my nose), gave her a kiss on the forehead, and went back inside.

Annabeth let a breath out and gave me a look. "Really?"

I shrugged. "Hey, I'm fearless." Okay, so that's a lie. Whatever.

She rolled her eyes and returned her hands to the back of my neck. "Look," she whispered, looking back to her door. "I'm a girl who doesn't beat around the bush—"

"What bush?"

She sighed. "Never mind. I'm going to make this quick: obviously, as you were creeping in my garden, you heard my feelings towards you. So I want you to tell me your feelings towards me."

I chuckled, surprised. "I climbed over your mansion wall and hid in grape vines just to see you again after only two hours. Doesn't that say it all?"

Annabeth's mouth twisted. "Say the words though. I'll even go first—Percy Jackson, I fell in love with you the moment we locked eyes tonight. Can you say the same?"

She said the most beautiful words to ever hit my ear like it was no big deal and something about it gave me confidence and power as well. It's like she rubbed off on me just by looking into my eyes; but whatever it was, I had absolutely no hesitation saying, "Annabeth, in just two and a half hours, I have fallen so in love with you, no one would believe it. And I don't even care how cheesy that sounds, nor do I care if no one else understands, because all that matters is that what I say is true and that _you_ believe it."

All she could do was smile. Then she leaned in and fit her lips right on mine while her fingers knotted in my hair and my hands landed on her waist. The intensity and passion in that kiss was easily enough to melt me, then Annabeth pulled back and whispered, "Marry me."

I blinked. "What?"

"I said, 'Marry me.'"

"No, no, I know what you said. I just mean..." I bit my lip. "You seriously want to get married?"

Annabeth's face dropped and her eyes darkened. "You don't?" she whispered.

"No, no, no! I-I mean, yes! But no." She raised her eyebrow. Annabeth was smart, but I knew that my confusing nature was going to be a whole new kind of "confusing" to her. I started over. "I meant to say that no, that's not what I meant. Before, I meant, well... do you seriously want to marry _me?"_

She just nodded. No romantic, heart-felt story about how much she loved me, no second thoughts about getting her mom's blessing or something like that, not even a 'Yes.' But honestly, I liked that. She really _wasn't_ one to beat around some bush or something.

Butterflies filled my stomach. My heart raced like it did when I first met Annabeth just two and a half hours before. I was smiling from ear to ear. My palms were even a little sweaty; but I wasn't paying attention to any of that because the girl I had fallen for just proposed.

_Wait a second..._

"Wait," I said aloud. "_You_ proposed? Isn't that, I don't know, my job?"

She shrugged. "Oh well. To be totally honest, I really don't think we'll be a very traditional couple when it comes right down to it."

I chuckled. "Yeah, good point."

Her eyes narrowed and she was fighting a smile. In a soft voice, she said, "So is that a yes?" And just like her, I nodded.

Annabeth jumped in my arms and I spun her around. You know, like you're supposed to do in mushy, romantic stuff.

"Annabeth!" I was getting really annoyed with Athena at this point.

Annabeth rolled her eyes with me and called back, "Yes, yes, I'm coming! I told you to go back to bed."

Athena's voice was powerful as she yelled, "Don't sas with me, young lady! Now come inside!"

"I'm coming!" Then to me, she whispered, "I'll send someone to you tomorrow at some point."

"Nine."

"Fine. Figure out wedding plans and at nine tomorrow morning, I'll send someone to bring the information back to me. If all works out, we can be married by noon. Sound good?"

"Yes, but I have—"

"ANNABETH CHASE!"

"Yes, I'm coming!" she called back. She kissed me one more time then whispered, "Sorry, no time for questions. Now, goodnight!"

I kissed her hand as I was climbing down the flower fence. "Goodnight, my love."

I ran back into the dark and looked back to see Annabeth arguing with her mom, but even then, Annabeth had a slight glow to her. It was enough to make me smile even as I got my foot caught in that same gopher hole again.

As I fell back to the ground, I looked up at the stars. I mean, when you fall, you're obviously looking up, but that's not the point.

The point is that I had a slight moment to think; think about the party, think about my friends whom I sort of ditched...

Think about the fact that I was engaged and getting married in less than twelve hours.

* * *

**REVIEW. please. -kenna(:**


	4. Late Monday Morning

**im back !**

* * *

**Percy's POV**

I looked like death.

I mean, you can't really blame me. What else are you supposed to look like when you've been running through the streets of Verona all night with no sleep? My reflection caught my eye as I was passing the window of Verona's general store. My hair was messier than normal, my eyes had heavy purple bags starting to form under them; even my clothes had a worn out, long-night look to them.

I walked over to a well on the corner of the street and splashed some water on my face. It was more so to wash away my all-nighter look than to keep me awake. I had all the energy and drive I needed to keep walking. My mind wasn't even remotely focused on when the next time I would get sleep would be. All I was thinking about was Annabeth and the whole reason that I was still up in the first place: I needed to find Chiron.

Chiron was Verona's friar or "pastor" for those who don't know. He's also a very close friend of mine. He was wise, he was strong, he was...picking flowers.

"Chiron!" I called to him. He was on the very edge of town just on the side of a road. He jumped when he heard me and even plucked the flower that he was examining right out of the ground.

"Oh, Percy, my boy! You frightened me!"

"I'm sorry, Chiron," I said. "But I need to ask—"

"My God, Percy," he interrupted, not even really noticing that I was talking. "You don't look like you've slept a wink."

I chuckled. "That's because I haven't. But that's actually what I wanted to talk—"

"Boy, have you been with that girl? What's her name...Calypso?"

_Calypso. _"What? No, why?"

"Well I just assumed. You haven't stopped talking about her since you two started dating."

"That's over now, Chiron."

He shook his head. "Kids these days—relationships don't seem to mean anything. Well, I'm sorry to hear, my boy."

"Actually, Chiron, I'm not upset," I said honestly. I even let out a laugh. "Actually, right now, I'm wondering why I was even with her in the first place."

This made him raise an eyebrow. I don't blame him—the only conversations that we've had for the last two months have been about mine and Calypso's relationship. He didn't say anything, but the look he gave me was telling me to explain.

My words caught in my throat. I suddenly wasn't sure what to say or how to say it. I mean, telling a friar that you and a girl broke up, you were devastated, then a week later, you met the daughter of your greatest enemy and got engaged in less than a day when you're only sixteen years old to start with isn't exactly easy.

But then curly blonde hair filled my thoughts and I took a breath. Annabeth convinced me to marry her just by being blunt, right? So shouldn't the same thing work on Chiron? "I'm engaged," I said.

Chiron eyes doubled their size yet he sounded surprisingly calm when he said, "Engaged? To whom, may I ask?"

I crossed my fingers for luck. "To the Chase's daughter, Annabeth. We met at the dinner party last night and, I don't know, we just, err...clicked?" It came out as more of a question which probably made it sound even more unbelievable.

Chiron set down his basket that I didn't realize he was holding and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he mumbled something to himself that sounded like, "Relationship really _don't_ mean anything these days." He sighed then looked back at me. "So Calypso's gone? Just like that?"

I shrugged. "I fell in love with her cousin. What's a guy supposed to do?"

"A guy's _supposed_ to love with his heart, not his eyes. Do you even know anything about this girl, Perseus?"

I took note that we were now on a full-name basis which meant that Chiron was either really annoyed or really confused. Or both. "I know that her name is Annabeth Chase," I answered. "I know that she radiates confidence and wisdom. I know that she's afraid of spiders and that she doesn't usually talk to herself but just had bad luck with it tonight." I chuckled to myself but Chiron kept his face, obviously wondering what was so funny. I coughed. "And I know that I love her. I can't explain it, but I do and I always will." With every last ounce of courage I had, I said, "Chiron, I came to ask if you would marry Annabeth and I today."

I felt as though I was watching Chiron's beard gray as he thought. He would twist his mouth then drop all expression and just stare at the ground. It seemed like twenty minutes, but I didn't move a muscle or even dare to speak. Finally, Chiron broke the silence. "I heard about the fight the other day. Again." He sounded just as annoyed about it as I was.

I nodded. "Yes."

"Is everyone okay?"

Again, I nodded and said, "Yes."

"Good. People are getting pretty sick of this feud, yes?"

I sighed. "You don't even know the half of it."

He chuckled. "Well, my boy, so am I. But who knows? Maybe this marriage will end the feud once and for all."

My heart skipped a beat and my mouth broke out into a grin. "So, you'll do it?"

Chiron sighed and smiled. "Yes, Percy, I'll do it. But we must keep this whole thing a secret for now. If Poseidon or Athena were to find out about this marriage at the wrong time, disaster could strike."

I agreed. "So, twelve-thirty?"

He nodded. "Sure. Now go tell your bride."

I was already running.

* * *

After the Chase's party, I ditched Grover and Nico to go see Annabeth. Shockingly, they weren't too happy to see me after that.

"Percy!" Grover called to me as soon as I stepped a foot on the beach. "Where have you been?"

"He's been screwing Calypso," Nico piped in.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up, Nico. I have not. Calypso and I are _over_, remember?"

Grover had the same expression that Chiron did. "You're...okay now?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm over her."

Grover looked surprised but Nico just chuckled. "Well that's good. Who wants to be with a virgin anyways? You got to put your dick somewhere, right?" Nico and Grover laughed and high-fived. I just smirked and stayed quiet, not seeing it as funny as they did.

"Ugh, I hated being at that party," Grover said. "Everyone was all dressed up and was using manners—I felt like a gay boy."

"You are a gay boy, Grover," I said. Nico chuckled.

"Very true," he said with a straight face. "I love you, Percy."

"I love you too, Grover."

He sighed dramatically. "You should say that in front of the girl you were screwing last night." I punched him in the shoulder.

Nico laughed. "But, seriously, man, where were you? I went to your house and Poseidon said that you never came home."

I pretended to straighten out my shirt. "I had something to do."

"Yeah. Calypso." I shot Grover a look as him and Nico cracked up again.

Nico turned around and wolf-whistled. The dark haired girl who took Annabeth to her mom was walking our way, a swing in her hips.

"Damn, I hope you got with that, Perce," Nico said, loud enough for Dark Hair to hear. "But if you didn't, I will."

Dark Hair approached and put her hands on her hips. "If you try, I'll cut your balls off, you pig," she said directly to Nico.

This only made Nico smirk. "_Ooh_, the seductress has some sass. I like that."

Dark Hair ignored him then turned to me. "You're Percy Jackson, right?"

"He did get with her," Grover mumbled to Nico. I shoved him.

"Yeah," I answered Dark Hair. "Who are you?"

"Thalia," she answered. "Can we talk for a second?"

"Sure. Why?"

Thalia gave me a look of disbelief. Then, just quiet enough that only I could hear, she mumbled, "Why Annabeth would want to marry an airhead like you, I'll never know."

"Guys, I'll see you later," I said, ignoring Thalia's comment.

"Alright," Nico said. "Don't get the girl pregnant when you're screwing her fine ass." Yeah, that's Nico for you.

Thalia didn't even flinch. She just crossed her arms and even cocked her hip a bit at Nico and Grover who both just stared and chuckled before walking away.

"Quite some confidence you got there," I said once they were out of ear-shot.

She shrugged. "But I didn't come here to be sexually assaulted by young boys."

"Who don't look to be even three years younger than you."

"Whatever. Look, Annabeth isn't just the girl I've pretty much raised on my own since I was six, she's also my best friend. So if you turn out to be a sharp-tongued pig like your buddies over there, I can personally guarantee that Athena will be released on your ass. And when you're up against Athena," Thalia let out one sharp laugh. "you lose."

I held up my hands in defense. Before I could speak, however, Thalia asked, "But anyways, what's the verdict?"

"The...verdict?"

She rolled her eyes. "The result. The answer to our problem. Are you two going to get hitched or what?"

I shifted. "You want to say that a little louder?" I cleared my throat then took a step towards her, just to make sure no one else on the beach could hear. "Everything's set. You and Annabeth will sneak out of the house with the excuse that she needed to go to confession or something. Meet at friar Chiron's cell at twelve-thirty and we'll exchange our vows. Then tonight, leave a rope ladder hanging down from her balcony so that we can..." I coughed. "spend the night together."

Thalia smirked. "Oh, don't beat around the bush. Just say it's so you can sleep with her."

"Okay, what is this bush?!"

Thalia picked at her nails, ignoring me. "Okay, sounds good. I'll be sure to tell her."

I nodded my head. "Okay, great. Err, thank you, Thalia."

Again, she just shrugged. "Anything for my Annabeth." As I started to turn away, Thalia grabbed my shoulder. "Hey," she said. "err, take good care of her, okay? She's...she's a good one."

I nodded. "I know." Then I turned around and started into town. I needed to buy nicer robes.

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

I was sitting upside-down on my couch. My mom always scolded me when I would do things like this saying that it wasn't lady like, so I would just do it when she wasn't around. Which was always.

Besides, there wasn't anything better to do. I had already bathed, gotten dressed, stood around tapping my foot, even cleaned my own room down to the last speck of dust just to pass the time. I was waiting for Thalia to get back.

"God, where is she?" I said to myself as I glanced at the clock that read two minutes to noon. I had sent her to get an answer from Percy three hours before. And we Chase's aren't patient people.

Just then, my door opened and in strolled Thalia, a neutral expression on her face. "Thalia!" I jumped up from the couch, becoming slightly dizzy in the process. "Did you find Percy?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, I found him. And I tell you, if we weren't in public, his idiot friends probably would've raped me." She made a look of disgust then brushed it off.

"Well, what did he say?" I asked.

"He said something about screwing me if Percy didn't." Thalia went into the bathroom and turned on the faucet in the sink. I followed her.

"Not the friend, Thalia," I said, slightly annoyed that she was stalling. "Percy. What did Percy say?"

"'Bout what?"

"About getting married!" I grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards me, her hands still wet. "What. Did. He. Say?"

At first, Thalia kept her neutral expression plastered on her face, refusing to budge. Then the corner of her mouth turned upward into a smirk and she said, "You better get your hair done, m'lady. You're going to have a husband in half an hour."

I didn't know how I was able to breathe right then with my throat clenching up and my heart going three times its normal speed. But I didn't have to breathe—I only had to smile.

* * *

The aisle was long, my dress was too heavy and hot for summer, and I think Chiron purposefully made our vows as long as possible just to piss me off. If he was, it worked.

Thalia was standing in the back. As much as she wanted to put on her classic bored face, I could tell that she was happy for me. I caught her eye once and she was grinning then winked.

I didn't even really hear Chiron as he was reading our vows. My eyes never came off of Percy's and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Then all of a sudden, Percy was leaning in, planting his lips on mine. Thalia was cheering in the back then laughing at herself. We pulled away and Chiron was smiling as well, looking like he was actually happy for us.

Percy held out his hand and lead me out of the cell. "You must return to your castle, Mrs. Jackson," he whispered. "Your mom might be thinking that you're doing something stupid."

I laughed. _Mrs. Jackson_, I thought. _I could get used to that._

* * *

**review . now . -kenna(:**


	5. Monday Afternoon

**hi guys(: **

**enjoy !**

* * *

**Percy's POV**

The scary part about being married at sixteen to the daughter of my dad's greatest life enemy isn't the "being sixteen" part or the "she's the daughter of my dad's greatest life enemy" part. It's more the listening to the rumors of marriage. You know, the parts about the girl growing old and getting fatter and bitchier every day.

I mean, I know that's not going to happen in our case! So please don't kill me, Annabeth. You're much too beautiful and nice to turn into a fat bitch. But really, as I was walking to the beach to meet up with the guys, that's sadly what came to my head.

The good thing is those thoughts quickly went away when I remembered her walking down the aisle in white, feeling jealous for others that they couldn't see her perfect smile, and of course our first kiss as husband and wife. The list went on and so did my thoughts.

Which is why I ran into and then knocked over a trash can.

"Percy, man!" Grover called when running up to me. He had a look of both fear and rage, but both of them wiped off when he saw all the garbage that had spilled out laying on the ground. "Way to go."

"Shut up," I said. "Now, what is it?"

Grover nodded his head like he had forgotten why he came up to me in the first place. "Oh, right. Man, guess who just showed up?"

"I give up."

"The worst of all the Chase's." He narrowed his eyes back the way he came. "Clarisse."

I snorted. "Great. What does she want?"

"Err, well—"

"JACKSON!"

Clarisse was standing in the middle of the beach. She was wearing boots and pants which labeled her as a trouble maker already. But if that wasn't already enough, Clarisse had a sword strapped to her side. Her very muscular arms were crossed over her body and a grin that was a cross between a smirk and a growl was plastered on her face. The Stoll's were standing behind her with the same look of distaste for all Jackson's that Clarisse was wearing.

I sighed and walked up to her, Grover just a step behind me. Nico came up to us as well with a determined look on his face. We came to a stop about ten feet in front of them. "What is it, Clarisse?" I asked.

"What, no insults today, Jackson?" she snarled.

I shrugged. "Not feeling it, I guess."

She laughed. "Whatever, Jackson. Well, believe it or not, I came all the way out here just for you."

"Oh, wow, I'm honored."

"Shut it, boy. I came here for business." Clarisse drew her sword and pointed it my way. "I'm here to end this once and for all, you mess with my family, and you mess with me."

"Hey, what did I ever do to your family?" I complained.

"Does crashing our party sound familiar?" she asked.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and ask what pills she was put on to make her so sensitive. I mean, come on. I snuck into _one_ party and now she sees it at a fight to the death? I was actually ready to take her challenge just to shove karma in her face, but it was her face specifically that stopped me; her eyes to be more exact.

In them was the same determination and drive that I had gotten to know so well in the last eighteen or so hours; my newly-wedded wife always had that look when she was thinking. Of course, usually her determination came from something good—not this.

I lowered my gaze, knowing that there was no way I would fight Clarisse or anyone in the Chase family for that matter. I didn't want to like them because it was the way I grew up, but they were Annabeth's family. I'm sure she would do anything she could to make peace now that we're together as well. In surrender, I held up my hands. Clarisse seemed confused.

"Clarisse, do I want to fight? Duh. You get the satisfaction of that. But I won't." I took a peak at Grover who was staring at me wide-eyed, probably wondering what the hell I was doing. I kept going. "Today, I would like to finish this as well, but not with war. I've gotten a new respect for the Chase family. I can't tell you why but I want you to hear me out, okay? Can we just move on and both go back home?"

Clarisse took a second to process this. She had a more angry version of the expression that Grover had. Then she lowered her sword and smirked. "Aww, is wittle Percy scawed?" The Stoll's behind her laughed and I did my best not to choke them.

Grover, however, didn't seem to try as hard as me. "Oh, you guys think you're just hilarious, don't you?"

"Grover, chill."

"No, Percy, I'm with Clarisse on this." He turned his attention back to her. "You want a fight? I'll give you a fight. Maybe this will finally wipe that damn grin off of your face." Clarisse looked pleased.

"Are you serious, Curly Hair?"

He drew his sword. "As serious as suicide."

I grabbed Grover's arm and pulled him back a step before he could lunge. "Grover, stop it. This isn't your fight."

"You're right," he responded, not taking his eyes off of Clarisse. "but you're not taking it and someone's got to teach these Chase's not to mess with the Jackson's."

Before I could say anything else, Grover ripped out of my grip and lunged at Clarisse, just barely blocking an attack of her own.

Everyone around them but me backed up—even Nico. "Nico!" I yelled. "Don't just stand there—help!"

He just shrugged, not knowing what he could do. He had his sword but I'm sure he was smart enough to know that he would probably die himself if he tried to break these two up. I, on the other hand, had a history of not being smart. I had probably done enough stupid things in the last eighteen hours for twelve life times but one more wasn't going to kill me...hopefully.

I ran up behind Grover who just nearly dodged a blow to the head. Clarisse was clearly much better than Grover, but I needed to break them up before Grover figured that out as well.

Clarisse swung again, but this time at his feet which Grover swiftly jumped over. Grover was keeping up pretty well, but as soon as she blocked one his blows to the head, she used it against him which knocked him off his feet. He landed with an awkward _thud _in the sand. Clarisse raised her sword to strike down, so I used the opportunity to push her out of the way, the tip of her sword landing just to the right of where Grover was still scrambling to get up.

"No, Clarisse!" I pleaded. "Please, stop this! If you don't want to listen to me, then listen to Zeus who specifically promised an execution for whoever got involved in another fight. If you want to keep your life, just leave!"

Clarisse pushed me out of the way. With a glare in her eyes, she spit on the ground then said, "Coward."

Even though my attempt to get Clarisse out of it didn't work, I at least bought enough time for Grover to get back up on his feet and take stance. He immediately charged just barely missing me and instead grazing my shirt. I rolled out of the way and kept backing up until I could get a clear look at the two of them.

Clarisse blocked another of Grover's blows but instead turned her sword around and butted him in the gut which made him hunch over. Clarisse backed up a couple feet and from the gleam in her eyes and the smirk on her face, I could tell she wasn't ready for this fight to be over. But before she could change her mind, I ran in between them and grab Grover's arms. "Come on, man, stop this! You're better than this!"

For half a second, I thought I saw Grover give me a look that said he believed me. And that was all the time that Clarisse needed.

I saw Grover wince and stumble out of my grasp. Nico sprinted up to him and caught him just before he fell. Clarisse had a blank expression as she backed away.

My jaw fell open and I grabbed Grover's other arm. He was hunched over again but this time he was holding his side. The rest of our friends came up as well, all asking if he was okay.

Grover was still stumbling around but he straightened up. "Aye," he answered everyone with a smile. "It's all good. It's a scratch, that's all. A scratch."

He turned towards me, still holding his side but wearing his typical Grover-grin. I tried to smile back but something in his eyes didn't help me believe that it really only was a scratch, and neither did the bloody tip of Clarisse's sword.

Grover looked me in the eyes and shook his head. "Don't worry, Perce," he said. "You know me, I won't let this keep me down." He turned towards the guys who had gathered. "I won't let this keep me down!" They all cheered and laughed at him like normal. My face stayed blank.

Grover turned back to me. His eyes were gazed over and he shook his head again. Then suddenly, he began to laugh. His laugh sounded like a goat which made the rest of the crown laugh and cheer like nothing had happened. Under the roar of the crowd, Grover whispered, "Go to hell, Percy."

My heart sank and my stomach turned. I really hoped that I had heard him wrong, so I said, "What?"

"GO TO HELL, PERSEUS!" The crowd fell silent and there were tears in Grover's eyes. Mine started to glaze over as well. I tried putting my hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it away and took a couple steps back. "You, your family, your family—" He pointed at Clarisse who also had his attention. "EVERYONE! Fuck you all and this feud!"

Grover stumbled down the beach a lot faster than he probably should have been able to. We all ran after him, me in front. Just as he was maybe fifteen feet away from us, he tripped in the sand and fell, still holding his side. I ran up next to him and grabbed his hand. "Grover, Grover, stay with us now," I said quickly. I squeezed his hand and tears started dripping down my face.

Grover let out one more of his goat-like laughs, and then he dropped back. His breathing stopped and his face was lifeless. He was gone.

The next few seconds seemed to go in slow motion. I leaned over Grover and sobbed along with Nico. The rest of the guys tried to pull us off of him to get us out of there before Zeus came, but we resisted. A crowd had gathered around us, watching from a distance. My sobs for my best friend were most likely heard even by them. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clarisse and her crew slipping away.

Without thinking, I grabbed Nico's sword, turned my back on Grover and started to sprint after them. "Percy, no!" Nico called, chasing after me.

I ignored him just like Grover and Clarisse ignored me. They were right—this had to be settled, and I wasn't about to let my best friend go without some vengeance. Clarisse deserved to pay for this. This had gone too far.

Tears still stung my eyes as I ran. I ran faster than I ever had before. Somehow, Nico caught up with me just enough to grab the back of my shirt. I didn't let that slow me down. Instead, I used the already big slice from Grover's lunge to my advantage and ripped right out of the shirt completely, then I took off running again.

Citizens were smart and staying out of our way, though they couldn't help being curious and watching. I ignored them, only seeing Clarisse. "CLARISSE!" I called as best as I could while nearly out of breath. "ONE OF US GOES WITH HIM, COWARD!"

She skidded to a stop and turned around. I stopped as well, Nico's sword grasped firmly in my hand. "One of us goes with him!" I said again. "You, me, or both of us, but not just him!"

Clarisse for once didn't look in the mood to fight, but she didn't look like she would just walk away after being called a coward. That was her weakness. Instead, she squared her shoulders towards me and raised her own sword. "So be it, Jackson, but it's not going to be me."

She lunged but I easily defended myself. The second time she lunged, however, the tip just slit my side, leaving a gash. She was much more on the attack, but my blocks and quick moves twirled the sword right out of her hand and the sword at her throat with in just ten seconds. This was the first time that I had ever really seen Clarisse scared, and she had a reason to be.

Tears still stung my eyes and ran down my cheeks, but even with my blurred vision, I could still see every detail of her face. I could have finished her right then, but then I understood how Clarisse was feeling when she wasn't ready to stop—she wanted the chance to show that she could beat him twice and so do I.

I took too long thinking of this because before I knew it, her fist collided with my cheek and I was rolling on the ground. I tasted blood in my mouth but I just spat it out and stood back up. She had grabbed her sword and was in the lunging position again, ready.

I almost wanted to laugh, knowing that she wasn't ready. She just wanted it to _look_ like she was. If it had been up to her in the first place, I would have been dead. Instead, she killed Grover—my best friend.

I was fighting for him.

With my own battle cry, I ran straight for her, dodging her sword and knocking her over into the sand. Normally I wouldn't hit a girl, but this was personal. I'm sure you would hit a girl too if you just watched her kill your best friend in front of you.

Besides, she started it.

My fist collided with her cheek at the same time that she kicked me in the gut. I hunched over and tripped on something stuck in the sand—a stick, maybe—and she pulled herself up. Both of our swords had skidded onto the street but neither of us made any move towards them. She stalked over to where I laid and promptly kicked me in the face. It wasn't hard enough to break anything, but it was enough to leave a pretty big gash across my forehead that started oozing blood. My vision blurred a bit and my energy started to drain.

The sticky liquid ran down my face but I just wiped it away and pushed myself up, knocking her feet out from under her in the process. She fell backwards and hit her head on the sidewalk which kept her down a few extra second. Just that one motion made me tired and my head spin.

I took this chance to run over to where our swords laid on the ground. I picked Nico's up just as I heard footsteps coming up fast behind me. I quickly spun around, sword in hand, and that's all it took.

The tip of the sword grazed across her chest and the momentum from her running drove the tip right into it. She gasped and started to shake. I threw the sword on the ground and tried to go help her, but it was like my legs had turned into lead. Clarisse took a couple steps backwards and slipped on the grass-ledge, falling into the sand. She didn't move.

"PERCY!" I heard Nico call. "Percy, get out of here! Zeus will find you if you stay!"

I still couldn't move or say anything. The blood on my head started to clot which let me know that the cut wasn't too bad. But at the moment, I would have taken twelve staples in my head over the fact that I had just killed Clarisse La Rue—my wife's cousin.

"Nico," I whispered. "Nico, what did I just do?"

People around us started to move, some going to Clarisse's side, so leaving the scene completely. "You're not listening, Perce!" Nico shouted again. "You have to go! Go hide somewhere and don't come out!"

He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down the street. "Go!" he repeated one more time. This time, my legs seemed to listen and I took off running.

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**reviewwwwwwwww -kenna(:**


	6. Monday Night

**you guys rock: Zoegurl49, prince of the seas, Tajee165, Mini Jackson, Menna Nasser, Living-Loving-Laughing14, PJYJAwesomeness**

**everyone else who read this story rocks too .**

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

For nearly four hours, I waited in my room in silence. Thalia knew not to bother me as I took the time to get ready for my first—and possibly only—night with Percy and my parents seemed to be busy with their own thing. However, I have to admit, I wasn't very patient. I kept pacing from one side of the room to the other, checking pieces of furniture and decorations that were already spotless and perfectly placed. At one point, I even scrubbed my balcony floor.

I watched as the sun set and butterflies filled my stomach higher and higher; the time we planned to meet got closer and closer. I danced around my room to no music just because I was that full of bliss. I felt like flying.

It's amazing how quickly the atmosphere can change.

I heard Thalia's scream echo through the house. Dropping my scrub brush, I rushed into the hallway. "Thalia?" I called. More screaming answered my call and my heart started pounding.

Then Thalia came into view. Her face looked horrified and her eyes were glazed over. That was enough to make me want to throw up because Thalia never cried, and I really do mean never. Like, ever.

She didn't even seem to touch the ground before she got to my floor and literally pushed me back inside my room, slamming the door behind her.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Clarisse is dead," she said bluntly. I wasn't sure I heard her right.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me."

My throat closed up and my heart raced. I didn't know what I was expecting to hear but that definitely wasn't it. I was never a huge fan of Clarisse. Sure she was my cousin, but she was mean, violent and...well, mean. However that didn't change the fact that she was part of my family. For her, tears started falling.

"H-how?" I managed to ask. "How did it happen?"

Thalia froze. Only her eyes looked in my direction before she said, "You might want to sit down for this one."

"I'm a strong girl," I said. "I can take it."

Thalia sighed and clenched her fists. Unlike me, Thalia had a decent relationship with Clarisse. They didn't really like each other either, but they were closer and more alike than her and I were. I even remembered a time when Thalia referred to Clarisse as her friend. "It was your little _Romeo_," she muttered in disgust. "Percy."

I blinked and I quietly took the few steps from where I was standing to my bed to sit down.

"Told you," Thalia said.

I ignored her. My head was spinning and I really did feel like I wanted to throw up. No way—no _way_ did Percy kill Clarisse. Percy was too sweet, hot, and perfect to do that, especially considering Clarisse is my cousin. Or, err, she _was_ my cousin.

"What happened before that?" I asked. "Did he, like, get in a fight or was he being threatened or something? Because my Percy would never do that to me, feud or not. He just said that he was sick of this stupid fight. That was the whole reason we got married, wasn't it? Not to mention the fact that I love him! Oh my, God, Thalia what if he doesn't actually love me? What if he was faking it just to get his dad and my mom to make up and then he was just going to dump me like garbage? Or maybe he—"

"Annabeth!" Thalia shouted. "Look, he killed Clarisse after she killed Grover. Clarisse came after Percy for crashing your mom's party but he backed down. Grover took over and...well, he lost."

"Grover's dead too?"

She nodded sadly and paused. The silence was almost worse than hearing the news. With silence, I actually processed it which only made me feel worse and more confused. "This just...wasn't your day."

I rolled my eyes at her subtleness. I let my head fall in my hands and ran my fingers through my curls. My head hurt, my stomach hurt, my heart hurt, and now I started feeling the pain in my knees of washing concrete. "Not at all."

Thalia came and sat next to me. "And because life just keeps getting better, I don't know where Percy is."

I sighed. "Great."

"He's been banished."

My eyes bugged out and I nearly hit my head on my nightstand from jumping back. "WHAT?!"

Thalia shrugged. "It's better than execution which is what would have been Percy's fate if it wasn't for some bystander stories. Zeus was called and understood where your little hubby was coming from. Instead of sentencing him to _death_—" She enunciated the last word hoping for me to see the bright side like she was trying to explain. I didn't. "—like what he was originally promising, he banished him to some land far away."

I crumbled. I wanted to pull out mine and Thalia's hair, tears were running down my face which was ruining my make up, and my throat was so choked up that I couldn't let out the heart-broken sobs that I wanted to, let alone breathe. Part of me wanted to punch Thalia for seeing my husband's banishment as a good thing after his best friend and my cousin were both killed, another part of me wanted to punch Percy for killing my cousin in the first place which caused his banishment, and a third part wanted them both here so I didn't have to fall apart alone.

_This kind of stuff doesn't happen. It just_ _doesn't happen._ But no matter how many times I chanted that to myself, I still felt the cold tears on my cheeks reminding me that it was all true. My Percy was being taken away from me.

"W-where?" I choked out. "Where is he being banished to?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "Some strawberry fields, I think."

I raised an eyebrow, still holding my stomach incase I really did start to fall apart. I had an image of my arm just falling off. "Why?"

"Don't ask me. I'm not the one who banished him—that one was all Zeus."

"No, shit," I muttered. "but what happens now?"

"ANNABETH!"

A very distressed looking Athena barged into my room. She also looked like she had been crying, however I highly doubted we were crying for the same thing. "Oh, Annabeth," she cried, throwing her arms around me. Even if it was under false circumstances, we cried together. Thalia moved across the room with her arms firmly crossed over her chest.

"It's okay, honey," my mom said. "It'll be okay. I can fix this."

"Yeah?" I asked sniffling. My mind totally skipped over Clarisse and instead went to Percy. Twenty-six hours before, we were stranger-enemies. Now, he was the love of my life, my husband, and most certainly my everything. And now he was being forced to leave me. "How?"

She smiled weakly at me. "We don't have to spend this week in sadness. Luke has officially asked to marry you and I agreed."

Thalia's gaze shot over in fear. I don't think she was expecting that either. My jaw dropped open. "What?" I whispered. I started getting the feeling that I wasn't exactly in-the-loop of things today.

My mom smiled wider this time. "Yes! The murder of your gracious cousin by that horrible Jackson boy made me realize that life is short, you know? So I figured, so what if you're only thirteen? Maybe you should experience love before it's too late. So I have arranged for you to marry Luke on Thursday."

I really didn't think I could take any more tonight. In my sweetest and softest voice that I could come up with, I said, "Mom, I appreciate you thinking of me, but I don't want to marry Luke. I don't even know him. Plus, isn't it kind of my choice who I marry?"

"Ha! You silly little girl. Of _course_ it's not your choice." She still had a smile plastered on her face like I was about to agree any second. Of course, to her, it didn't matter if I would agree or not.

"Mom," I said a little more forcefully. "I'm not marrying Luke." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thalia just watching to see what was about to happen. She looked scared for me with her eyes still glassy and her hands folded at her mouth.

Athena realized that I wasn't going to see it her way. Her smile turned into a firm line and she stood up straight. "Oh, you will marry him, Annabeth. And that's final."

"But, Mom, I—"

She grabbed my hair and pulled me up. Thalia looked like she wanted to help, but she knew better than to mess with Athena. "No, Annabeth. You will _not _disrespect me or my choices. And if you do not say your vows at the altar with Luke, I will personally call Zeus and have you banished as well!"

"Mom, please!"

She pushed me back on the bed. "Enough, Annabeth! You can rot in the streets for all I care! But as long as you're under my control, you will do as I say! Is that clear?"

Her eyes burned into mine. The roots of my hair and my eyes both stung. Thalia knew better than to mess with Athena and so did I. I couldn't bring up my marriage with Percy now—it wouldn't fix anything. My mom and probably every other Chase would see me as a disgrace who married the Jackson boy without my mother's consent and it just so happened to be the very same boy who killed Clarisse and got himself banished on the same day as our wedding.

Instead of fighting, I hung my head in sadness and nodded. With the pride and confidence the she was known for, Athena marched out and slammed the door. Thalia rushed over to hug me and I broke down.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

"Way to go, dipshit." I was hiding out in Chiron's church cell. He was treating the few injuries that I got fighting Clarisse, however, I had the feeling those injuries wouldn't even come close to the pain I felt in my heart. Guilt weighed down on me as the fact that I had killed my new wife's cousin really dawned on me.

"I could live without the comments, thank you, Chiron," I said. I winced when he started cleaning up the gash on my head. "But seriously, I think I fucked everything up."

Chiron gave me a look. "Is it really smart of you to cuss in front of a friar?" I mumbled an apologize and he just brushed me off and continued. "But you did. And now you're banished."

I think I nearly took him out from how suddenly I flinched. "What!?"

He cocked his head. "Didn't you know that? I would kind of assume that you should considering it's _your_ banishment."

"Yeah, I would assume so too! But I guess no one bothered to, you know, TELL ME!" My heart rate shot up and it wasn't from these crazy drug herbs that Chiron had given to me. Sure, I had thought about the fact that I was going to be killed for what I did, but I felt like that's what I deserved. How the hell did I deserve to be banished? Banishment only meant that I would still be alive knowing Annabeth was also alive but I wasn't allowed to see her. Then she would go off on her own, marry someone else and spend her life with him.

Yeah, I wasn't okay with that.

I hopped off of the table. "Where am I being sent to?"

"From what I've heard, there's a small villages on some land for a strawberry service."

I raised my eyebrows and shrugged. "Shouldn't be too bad."

Chiron looked confused. "Even if you won't be with Annabeth?"

I smirked. "Don't worry. I'm not leaving without her."

"Well, don't say it like that, my boy," he advised. "You make it sound like you're going to kidnap her."

"If that's what it takes." Chiron froze. I laughed. "I'm kidding, Sir. Relax."

Chiron grabbed a towel and started wiping his hands. "For a boy who just got married to his father's greatest enemy's daughter, watched his best friend get killed by a girl, and then killed that girl himself only to be banished to a field of fruit, you're pretty relaxed."

I took a deep, shaky breath. "Not really, but I've been told that anything is possible."

"Yeah? By who?"

"Blue food-coloring."

The door to the church flew open and a very wet Thalia marched up to me. I was about to ask what happened when thunder cracked outside. Thalia in response said, "You're _really_ lucky I love Annie as much as I do. 'Cause if I didn't, I'd bury you in a hole."

I held up my hands in surrender. "I believe you." Her electric blue eyes gave me the idea that I really shouldn't answer otherwise.

"Good," she said. "Now, are you done here?" She gestured to Chiron's cell which was oddly filled with different plants, fumes, and bowls of various medicines.

"Why?" I asked quickly. "Does Annabeth still want me to come? I-is she okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine. Kind of pissed off at you for killing her cousin," Thalia took a shaky breath. "but fine." Her head hang low.

My stomach dropped. Of course she wouldn't want to see me. I killed Clarisse the day I promised her that I would try and end this war between our families. That's not exactly the best way to start a marriage. "Oh. Well, I could stay here for the night, I guess." I looked to Chiron for approval, but before I could see his answer, Thalia slapped me.

I held my cheek in pain. "Ow! What was that for?"

"I didn't slave my ass through Venice in the pouring rain for you to 'stay here for the night,'" she said. "Now get your shit together and go sleep with your wife."

To say the least, Thalia was something else.

* * *

I wasn't any better at climbing up Annabeth's dumb flower fence than I was the night before. I was barely able to pull myself over the railing of her balcony without losing my footing on the slippery surface and falling the fifteen-or-so feet to my death.

I shoved the doors of her room open and slammed them behind me. Water was dripping off of me from the storm that was still going strong. My hands were starting to turn blue from the cold so I blew into them. Then I heard a floor creak from behind me.

Annabeth was standing in her nightgown that dropped down to her bare feet. Her eyes were still a little red, but she wasn't shooting daggers at me so I figured—hoped—that meant that I was forgiven.

However, her arms were crossed over her chest and stood in the way parents usually do when they're about to punish you. "Well, it took you long enough."

I smiled from ear to ear and ran to her, scooping her up in my arms and kissing every inch of her that I could find. I still couldn't believe that she was mine and only mine. I felt sorry for the rest of the guys in the world because they couldn't have her. Actually, no I didn't. Suck it, bastards.

Annabeth was laughing quietly and pulled me onto her bed. She locked her lips with mine and quickly slipped my soaking shirt off. I rolled on top of her and wrapped one arm securely around her waist. With the other, I slid down her leg until I reached the hem of her dress. I grasped it tight and slowly pulled it over her head, never letting go of her once. Her sweet kisses lingered everywhere they touched and they alone were enough to make me forget everything; our parents, Grover, Clarisse, my banishment to a land of fruit, all of it.

Right now, she was mine. And only mine.

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**let me know your thoughts ! -kenna(:**


	7. Tuesday Morning

**NOTE: in Shakespeare's era, the term "I bit my thumb" = "I gave them the finger"**

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**Annabeth's POV**

"Dammit," Percy muttered.

"What is it?"

"The sun." He pointed to the window where light was just starting to peak out over the horizon. Morning birds were starting to sing as well. "I have to go."

"No," I complained. I wrapped my arms around his sculpted torso before he could climb out of bed. I closed my eyes. "I see no sun."

I felt Percy lean in close before planting a kiss on my neck. "Okay," he whispered. "I guess you're right."

"I always am," I said.

He climbed back on top of me. "I'll just stay," He ran his hands down to my waist. "right here." He started poking my sides which made me squirm and kick. I let out a laugh that seemed to echo throughout the house this early in the morning. Percy quickly slapped a hand over my mouth and we both froze, listening.

The soft sound of footsteps echoed up the steps. I raised my arms and pushed Percy off of me and onto the floor. He made a loud _thump_ but at this point, I didn't care. My heart was in my throat and the beat pounded in my ears. The footsteps got louder and picked up pace. I grabbed a sheet from my bed and wrapped it around my naked body just as my door flew open. It was Thalia.

I let out a breath and put a hand to my heart. "Jesus, Thalia," I said. "I thought you were my mom."

Percy's head poked up over the bed and he let out a relieved sigh as well. "Okay, where are my robes?"

"No time for those," Thalia answered. She slipped inside and shut the door behind her. "You," She pointed at Percy. "Get out. Like, now."

"Ha..wha?"

"Annabeth, Athena sent me to come wake you up. She wants to talk to you. You've got two minutes." Thalia looked around her feet and found Percy's robes. She swiped them up and threw them directly at his face. "On second thought, robes might be a good idea. Now, I'm serious, hurry up." Thalia's tone and expression was enough to scare me but the idea of my mom seeing the son of her enemy naked in my room...well, let's just say I was suddenly able to see the sun.

I threw on my nightgown from the night before as Percy literally jumped into his pants. I hurried to my balcony doors and threw them open. Percy came up behind me and grabbed my waist gently, sending shivers up my spine. Being with him made my heart race but also calmed my mind. I grabbed his hands and even grinded up against his hips. He growled deep in his throat at kissed my neck once more.

More footsteps sounded from outside my room. I grabbed Percy's arm and pulled both of us out to the balcony and slammed the doors shut.

Seconds later, I heard my mom. "Annabeth?" she called. "Are you in here?"

"On the balcony, Mom. I'll be in in a second."

"What are you doing out there?"

"It got stuffy in my room last night. I just came out for some air." Percy ran his finger along my jaw line. I slapped it away.

Everything was dead silent while I waited for her reply. I prayed to everyone I could think of just for her to not come out here. "Yes," I heard her say. "I suppose it is pretty stuffy in here. Leave the door open when you come in. I'll be right back then I would like to talk to you!" She said the last part with some enthusiasm which made me think that it was for a good thing which means we were actually going to get away with this.

I turned to Percy who seemed to have the same thought process and broke into a smile. I smiled back at him and planted one more kiss on his perfectly pink lips. Then I grabbed his shoulders and nearly pushed him off the balcony. "Now, go," I whispered.

"I love you," he said while grabbing onto the flower fence.

"I love you more. We'll stay in touch, don't worry. We'll get through this then we can be together every night for the rest of our lives."

"I know," he said with a smile which made me actually believe that we would work this out. Our parents would find out about our marriage then they would have no choice but to get along for our sake. I would convince my family to forgive Percy for killing Clarisse no matter how long it would take. I wouldn't have to marry Luke and Zeus would cancel Percy's banishment and he would come back and we'd all live happily ever after.

For half a second, this sounded too good to be true.

Percy clumsily climbed down the fence and fell the last four feet. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. Percy noticed this and bit his thumb. "You better hope God wasn't looking just then," I said still giggling.

"With all that I've done in the last thirty-six hours, I'm going to hell anyway." He blew me a kiss before running off into the vineyard and disappearing.

I didn't have time to reflect on how perfectly him and I fit together or of how soft his fingers stroked my skin or on how he treats me like a best friend that he's known for years but touches me like...well, his wife; I heard my mom come back into the room so I slipped inside as well. As my mom wanted, I left the door open. Cold, morning air rushed passed me.

"Good morning, Mom," I greeted. She was standing just inside the doorway and Thalia was standing at her side. She gave me a looked that asked _Is he gone?_ I nodded very carefully and she let out a quiet breath.

My mom greeted me with a wide smile. "Sorry to wake you so early, dear." She looked around my room and stopped on my bed. Her eyebrow raised. "However, it looks like you had a rough night, anyway."

I shrugged. "Yeah," I said. I lock eyes with Thalia and smirked before saying, "it was pretty rough." Behind Athena's back, Thalia gagged and shot daggers at me. I laughed to myself.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Athena said. "My night wasn't that great either. My dear Clarisse..." She didn't finish her thought, but she didn't have to. I nodded to let her know that I understood. I'd be lying if I were to say that my cousin's death didn't come to mind once or twice over the course of the night, however the fact that it was Percy's doing didn't bother me anymore. I couldn't get myself to stay mad at him.

"Thalia, would you mind stripping Annabeth's bed and making it again while her and I talk?" Thalia nodded and was already back out the door to get some new sheets.

"Annabeth, honey," she started. She walked over to the couch and sat down. I sat next to her. "I have some great news! Now, I know we had our differences last night, but I would just like to tell you that I'm right. "

I didn't know if I wanted to throw up at the idea that my mom still wanted me to marry Luke or if I wanted to slap her for thinking she was right. "Actually, Mom—"

He expression went from an excited, teenage girl to the violent mother that I saw during our fight. "Annabeth, we talked about this: there is no _actually_.

"I know, but, Mom—"

"There are no _but's_ either. Now can I please just get to my news?"

I looked at the ground. "Fine. What is your news, Mother?"

"All I wanted to say was that I moved the wedding up to tomorrow!" She looked actually happy about this. She had no idea that I would rather kill myself than marry Luke or anyone else who wasn't Percy.

"Joy," I replied.

I could feel her daggers on me. Her expression were changing from hot to cold every second. "The attitude isn't needed, Annabeth. Now cut it out."

"I'm not doing anything."

Athena stood up and waited with her arms crossed until I met her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder why you even try, Annabeth."

"I try because I care about my life!" I said. After I said it, I wanted to take it back. I knew my mom was serious when she said that if I didn't marry Luke, she'd throw me out to rot. It was harsh, but not uncommon with kids who didn't agree with their parents. After this was out, however, I felt powerful. I had never stuck up for myself because I never had a reason to. Being with Percy was really the first big decision that I had ever made on my own so I felt like I needed to defend it.

Athena looked taken aback by my outburst. Her eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

I clinched my fists. "I just know that marrying Luke isn't for me."

Thalia walked back in with her arms full. "Thalia," my mom said. "will you please talk some sense into this one before I slap it into her?"

Thalia gave me a look. She hated when I fought with my mom because I never won as we saw just half a day before. Reluctantly, she nodded. Athena marched out of the room with her fists tight and lips pursed. I could only imagine the things that were going on in her head, and let me tell you: none of them were pretty.

After my mom was out of earshot, Thalia sighed. "Annabeth, why _do_ you even try? She's not going to budge on her demands."

"Yeah, well I'm not about to give in to her demands when I already have a husband!" My voice bounced against my walls and out my still wide open door.

Thalia's eyes widened and her head spun towards the door, just waiting for my mom to march back in and cut off my head. When she didn't, she turned her attention back to me. "Are you crazy?" she asked.

"Well, maybe I just don't care if she finds out anymore," I said. "If she doesn't, Percy stays in the land of fruit and I'm stuck marrying Luke."

"But if she does, she would send an assassin out to kill Percy and she might kill you too. She wouldn't just see it your way and you know that. Either way, you're marrying Luke in two days."

My breath caught in my throat when I realized that she was right. I kind of knew this whole time that Athena and Poseidon just changing their minds after hearing that their kids secretly met and got married would be a stretch, but I still hoped.

Tears gathered in my eyes which only got me more upset. I had cried more in the last day than I ever had in the rest of my life and I just wanted to be done. "What do I do?" I whispered.

Thalia hugged me close and didn't say anything for a while. Suddenly, she stiffened. "I have an idea."

* * *

"Oh my, God, Thalia, there he is," I whispered. Percy was sitting on a cloth at the front of the ship. Around him on the deck, families scrambled with their luggage dragging behind them; kids were huddled together, laughing and smiling at the thought of stepping foot in the New World. Percy, on the other hand, wasn't joining in on the excitement. In fact, he wasn't showing any emotion at all. Next to him sat one, small luggage bag. Even just seeing him sitting there doing nothing but waiting made my heart skip a beat. "W-what do I say?"

"He's your husband, Annabeth," she said. "You should know what to say."

"Him being my husband doesn't make up for the fact that I only met him two days ago," I pointed out. "And even then, what, do I just walk up to him and be like, 'Hey, hubby! I ran away from home and decided to follow you onto this ship so we could be together even though all we know is that we're going to a random strawberry field in America! Oh, and by the way, Thalia is coming with us!?'"

"Well, yeah," she said. "It's the truth, so why not?"

"He's going to tell me to march my ass back home."

"Simple: don't listen to him."

I lowered my head. Back at the house, Thalia pointed out that Percy was being sent to _live_ somewhere else, not _die_ somewhere else, which meant it had to be somewhere that he could live on his own. It may not be easy, but it'd have to be possible. Thalia also pointed out that I was willing to lie to my family and risk both mine and Percy's life just to be together, so why shouldn't we be together? I wasn't happy at home anyway and if I were to stay, I would be forced to marry Luke which I would burn at the stake before giving in to. So on pure adrenaline and with our heat-of-the-moment thought process, Thalia and I went to Chiron to figure out where Percy was being taken, snuck on the boat, and now we were here: fifteen feet away from my newlywed who could quite possibly be thinking the worst about this whole situation. I couldn't blame him.

"I don't know about this, Thalia," I admitted. "What if someone catches us?"

"No one will recognize us," she said. She twirled her peasant skirt and I picked at my non-corseted shirt that we had managed to buy before leaving town. "We look just like everyone else and as long as we stay low, we'll be fine." I nodded and took a breath. Thalia rubbed my shoulder. "Don't worry, babe. Think of it this way: this is a whole new life that just you and Percy get to make. Now go tell the bastard that you're here to stay. I'll be close by so we don't lose each other but I'll let you and him have some privacy. God, knows I don't want to see _or hear_ that anyway." She made a face.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her. After a couple of seconds, she let go, turned me on my heel, and pushed forward. I stumbled but caught myself before I could trip over someone who had also taken a seat on the deck. I apologized and stepped around the passenger which put me in a clear path right to Percy.

_Fifteen feet. Fourteen...thirteen..._

My breathing got heavier with every step, but I kept going.

_Eight...seven._

He saw me. He narrowed his eyes and even blinked once or twice. Finally when he realized that he wasn't dreaming, he shot up faster than a rocket and closed the last few feet between us. "Annabeth," he whispered against my lips. "What are you doing here?"

"I ran away," I said. I held him as close as I could, inhaling his perfect scent and remembering how perfectly our bodies fit together. I kissed him again. "I'm sorry."

He pulled back slightly, just enough so he could look me in the eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Anna." I hated when people called me Anna, but I let it slide due to the circumstances. "But you know you shouldn't have come here."

"I know," I replied. "but I did anyway."

"But you shouldn't have."

I took a step back. "Oh, so you want me to go?" I said playfully.

True worry came to his eyes. "No! Well, yes, but no." I giggled and hugged him close. All doubt about this trip was gone. As long as I was right here, I would be happy. "It's just...it's dangerous," he added.

"Don't worry, I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself."

"I don't know about that. What'll happen when you see a spider?"

I felt my face drain. "That'll be your job."

"Who said I liked spiders either?"

"So _that's_ our first thing that we'll fight about as husband and wife? Who's going to kill the spider?"

"Yes, unless you count me telling you to go home." His eyes looked serious, but he didn't loosen his grip on me at all.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said. "You're stuck with me whether you like it or not."

"Me too," Thalia said walking up to us.

Percy's eyes widened. "She's here too?"

"Relax, Jackson," she said. "If these last two days haven't proved it enough, I'm actually on your guys' side. I'm not going to tell on you like a five-year-old."

"Fine, but I swear, the first sex joke you make, you're out."

"No need. I'm sure Annie will be all over that." She winked then walked across the deck to find her own spot to sit. I giggled then looked back to Percy who still didn't look happy.

"I'm not leaving," I said stubbornly.

He sighed and hugged me close. After a couple of second of silence, he lead me back over to where he was sitting before. Around us, people ran to the side of the boat to wave goodbye to other loved ones on shore. I heard the sound of a bottle being broken against the ship's rear and the sails were hoisted up. Percy leaned down close to me and above all the crying and cheering around us, I heard him whisper, "Good."

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**review k? -kenna(:**


	8. Early Wednesday Morning

**thanks to my reviewers ! & of course to all my readers (: love ya !**

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**Annabeth's POV**

For eight days, Percy, Thalia and I crossed the Atlantic, surviving brutal storms, limited food, and horrible seasickness. Sorry Percy—I'll buy you new shoes, I promise.

Percy and I were cuddled up at the tip of the boat when dawn started to break. My eyes had already been open for a good hour before, but I wasn't surprised because, believe it or not, the wooden deck of a packed passenger ship that's sailing across the rocky waters of the Atlantic is not exactly equivalent to a feather bed when it comes to a place to sleep.

Good things did come out of this long journey across the pond however; such as learning that whether we're in the middle of a storm, a baby is screaming, or Thalia is complaining about some guy she had to sit next to who smelt like cheese, Percy doesn't wake up. I mean, he didn't sleep much—neither of us did—but when he was out, he was _out_. Looking at him now, his hair looked slightly like a dead rat on his head, his robes were wrinkled, and a small stream of drool was trickling down his chin. Somehow, I couldn't find it in my heart to look away.

That was, until the ship's horn blew.

I let out a scream then covered my own mouth as the people on deck awoke. Percy opened his eyes and noticed me clutching my pounding heart. He chuckled. "Shut up," I said.

The captain of the ship walked to the front of the second deck that overlooked most of the un-roomed passengers and waited for us to quiet down. With one arm, he gestured to the distance and said in a professional, booming voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, America."

The energy on the ship exploded and people trampled each other for a look at the New World. Percy pulled me up and we joined the other passengers in gazing upon the skyline of hills and mountains; actually, I was more or less just happy that there was land in general—eight days is a long time to see nothing but blue.

"Excuse me, 'scuse me, err, can I just...ugh, MOVE!" Thalia pushed her way through the last family who was blocking her path. They all glared and where a normal person would turn around and apologize, well... Thalia isn't normal. "Thank God. I _cannot_ suffer through one more night of laying next to Cheese Boy."

"I think we all kind of smell like cheese now," I said. "I hope there's a shower here."

"Do we even have a plan?" Thalia complained. "Like, what are we supposed to do: become beggars on the street? We have no money."

I bit the inside of my cheek. Sure, I knew the general idea of what I was getting myself into when I boarded the ship, but it never really hit me that there's no turning back; no parents, no money, no place to live—just banished to a field of strawberries. "What was your original plan, Perce?" I asked him.

He mumbled something, but I couldn't make out exactly what it was over the voiced of the crowd. "What?"

"Nothing," he said a little louder. "But I didn't really have a plan. I was just going to kind of go with it. I mean, there's strawberries there, right? And that's water and food in one package so we can survive."

Thalia rolled her eyes at him and I lightly smacked her, even though I found myself agreeing. But only a little bit, of course! "I hate not having a plan," I said.

"I'm sure we'll think of something," he said. "And anyway, we don't even know anything about this place. For all we know, it could be a five-star castle."

"I highly doubt that when Zeus banished you, his thought was, 'Where's the nicest place that a guy who killed Clarisse could go for the rest of his life?'" A pain shot though my stomach after speaking of Clarisse's death again, but I tried to not let it show.

"Have a little faith."

"'_Have a little faith?'"_ Thalia hissed. "Jackson, after lying for you and Annie, running across Venice for you and Annie, and getting shipped to some field across the ocean on a crowded ship with no showers for you and Annie, you _better _have some faith that the place out butts are going to be sleeping for the rest of our lives are beds made of cotton and feathers because otherwise I'm going to shove my foot so far up your—"

"CHILDREN, Thalia," I shouted over her. The little ones around us were curiously watching Thalia raise her voice at Percy with their big, innocent eyes. "Remember that there are children here." Thalia muttered some things to herself that I wouldn't dare repeat, so I just left her alone. "We'll just have to make the best of it."

My heart sped up as our ship pulled into the pier. There really was no turning back now.

The locals called this place_ New York_. And I realized that the "skyline of hills and mountains" was actually a skyline of buildings. Lots and lots of buildings.

They were made of steel and concrete and stood what seemed like miles high. There was one building that stood out over all the rest that seemed to point right to the heavens. The streets were paved and even from the dock I could see smelly men passing out fried meat wrapped in bread from little carts. It was both breathtaking and disgusting at the same time. The one thing that really stuck out, however, was...well, us.

"These girls look like harlots," Thalia said just as two girls in shorts that nearly showed their cheeks walked by.

"You've got to work on your volume, Thals," I whispered.

"I never said it was a bad thing."

"Me either," Percy added. I smacked him.

"We need new clothes," Thalia said. "If I'm going to live here, I'm not going to start by being the weird girl in the peasant clothing."

"And I don't see any guy here in robes," Percy noted. He seemed to specifically be eyeing a group of guys about our age crossing the street in tight sleeveless shirts and pants that they had to hold up themselves or else they'd probably fall right down to their ankles. "Is that cool here?"

"How are we even supposed to get clothes?" I said. "We don't have any money, remember?"

"Leave that to me," Thalia said. "You guys go find those strawberry fields. I'll meet up later."

"What are you going to do?"

"Just trust me." She smiled which always made me nervous.

Percy leaned into me and whispered into my ear, "Should we?"

Thalia heard this and hit him in the same spot that I did. He flinched and shut up. "Look, it'll be fine. I won't steal and I won't kill, okay?"

"Fine." Thalia took off towards the city leaving Percy and I.

The sky was still slightly tinted orange from the rising sun and the waves were calmer than what I was expected. The morning air had a slight crispness to it that was just enough to make me want to cuddle up next to Percy on the beach. The tall buildings and heavy noise even this early in the morning made me very aware that we weren't in Venice anymore.

Percy took my hands in his and looked at me. "So, what do you think?"

I shrugged. "It's different." In all honesty, I was more than tempted to crawl back on board and sail back home to have my head cut off as a punishment for running away with a boy. But like I had reminded myself early, there was no turning back now, and I wasn't about to just abandon Thalia here—especially not Percy.

"Think we're going to make it?"

"I hope so."

He chuckled. "Yeah, me too." He pecked my cheek and we wondered off to the streets, soon to be lost in both our minds and in New York.

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**Percy's POV**

To be quite honest, I was terrified. And a little hungry.

My body was perfectly relaxed while crossing the Atlantic, but that was because one: I love water and two: I love the feeling of Annabeth's warm skin in my arms. But the few hours that I was able to get sleep, the horrors and mistakes in my life amplified in my dreams.

In one dream, I remember seeing the look in Grover's eyes when he realized that this was all mine and the Chase's fault, not his. He died because of this feud. Next was the look in Clarisse's eyes when she ran into my sword. She died because of this feud. Lastly was seeing Annabeth tear herself away from her family to be with me. She ran away because of this feud. And even if she acted like everything was great and dandy and that this was what she really wanted, I could tell that all the event from the past two weeks really upset her. I had learned very quickly that Annabeth didn't like it when people saw her when she felt weak.

Most of me was actually thrilled that I was banished to America away from Annabeth's and my horrible feuding families. The only thing that made this banishment an actual punishment at all was because I couldn't see Annabeth, but now that she ran away with me, there's not much to frown about.

However, I was able to pick out a few reasons pretty quickly.

"Motorized carriages?" Annabeth mumbled when we observed more of the city.

I shrugged. "There's a lot of them, too."

Hundreds of these _'motorized carriages'_ were moving slowly on the streets in rows, honking horns randomly. A man in a suit and tie next to us waved a newspaper in his hand out into the street yelling, "TAXI! _TAXI!" _He finally stopped shouting as a yellow motorized carriage pulled up in front of him. "Twenty-Eighth Street, please," he said to the driver as he slid into the back seat.

"Can you do that?" I thought out loud.

Annabeth stepped to the edge of the street. "TAXI!" she called just like the man had. I pulled her back just as a different taxi sped by. She turned back to me and gave me a look. "Relax," she said. "I'm not six years-old." I knitted my eyebrows together but let her go. She faced the road again and called once more to another taxi passing by. This one noticed her waving and pulled over.

Excitedly, Annabeth took a hold of my arm and pulled me into the back seat with her. "Delphi Strawberry Service," she said to driver; she was a big-boned woman with matted down dirty blonde hair, a nametag that read _Diane_, and a scowl that read _I don't want to be here._

"Is it Renaissance Day at school, kids?" she said, chuckling a deep, nasally laugh.

Annabeth, keeping her smile, said, "Yeah, something like that."

The ride was pretty long. The whole time, however, we stayed within view of the ocean with leaning at some parts and squinting at others. There was a sheet of glass the separated the front and the back apart from a small opening about the size of a letter that opened and closed, so Annabeth and I were able to talk freely. We talked about the things we did when we were little and our pet peeves; our deepest secrets and our favorite songs. But most of the time we spent laughing at the thought of what our parents did when we left. _Laughing_.

"My mom probably had a heart attack and shot a canon at your house," Annabeth giggled. "'Cause you know when something goes wrong it's _'always one of those Jackson's faults.'"_

"Oh, and you think my dad reacted any differently?" I said. "He probably accused your mom of letting you go or something and threw your guardsmen through the windows."

Annabeth hunched over in laughter at the thought and I was about to join her. Thinking back now that we were officially away from all the tension, the deaths, the fighting, and everything else, it was kind of funny.

That must have been why it was so easy for me to leave my family in Venice and never look back. Even before Lady Athena's party, I knew it was a stupid fight and I wanted it to be done. Finally a reason came up for the possibly historical event to happen and _bam_, I get banished and the Chase's hate me more than ever. I had to chuckle at that now because that's just my luck.

So now being in this taxi with a girl who understood where I was coming from because she lived it as well and in a new world where no one seemed to wear proper pants, I could laugh about leaving all the Jackson's and Chase's behind to kill each other over nothing. At least I didn't have to be a part of it anymore.

We were free, and, at the moment, that's all that mattered.

The taxi suddenly jerked to a stop on a dusty road that looked a lot more like what I was used to. There was a big sign stuck into the hillside reading _Delphi's Strawberry Service: Pick Your Own Strawberries Please. _I opened the door to slide out when I heard Diane's nasally voice through the glass. "Uh, sir, that'll be three-hundred dollars."

"What's 'dollars?'" I whispered to Annabeth.

"Money, Kelp Head."

"Kelp Head?"

"Err, we don't actually have any money," Annabeth answered. "We didn't know we needed any."

She reddened. "Wait, what? You don't have money? What, do you even know what a taxi is!?"

"No," I muttered. Annabeth smacked me again.

Diane didn't seem to be expecting my honesty. At first she looked like she wanted to ask if we were actually hatched, but she just shook her head. "Well then, looks like we're going to sit here until your parents show up."

"Err, actually—"

"Hey, honey, it's either your parents or the police. Your choice."

Annabeth started chewing on her lip. I could just see the gears in her head turning, trying to come up with a way out of this. My heart started pounding as well; we were _immigrants_. If the police arrested us for "theft" or something, we could be sent back to Venice. And the only thing worse than being banished would be going home.

"There you guys are."

From over the top of the hill came Thalia in baggy, black pants with chains hanging from the thirty or so pockets and a black shirt that looked like it used to have sleeves. Her usually tight and proper curls had all been chopped off and her eyeliner was put on a little too thick. My jaw dropped.

Annabeth had the same expression but she quickly wiped it away and refocused. "Thalia, thank God. Look, is there a way that you could—"

"Tell Mom and Dad that there was traffic so they don't freak out about you being late again? Already done." I gave her the weirdest glance that I could think of and she just smile at me.

"Hu...wha—"

"Oh, good!" Annabeth exaggerated. "I was worried that we would be _in trouble_."

Thalia waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, please. You know I'm always there to save your ass."

Annabeth ducked her head an blushed a little. "Right. So we just have to pay the driver and then we'll be on our way!"

"Wait, wait," I said. Annabeth stepped on my foot and gave me that look that said _Do you ever stop talking?_ This "growing bitchier" thing started a lot faster than I thought.

"So your parents _are_ here?" Diane asked us, still partially red.

"Yup," Thalia said, popping the _P_. "But they're working right now so they asked me to pass on a message to you guys when you got back."

"What's that?" Annabeth asked.

"They said that the fields are plenty big enough to start running though. _Trust them on that_." Her eyes widened and stared directly into mine, trying to give me the message.

I was still lost. "Start running through?"

Thalia nodded. "Yeah, you know, picking the strawberries. You can help Annie here by running through them with her so it takes less time. It's hard to pick in a skirt, you know?"

Annabeth scoffed. "_Please_. I can run through these fields blindfolded and I'd still be faster than him."

_That_ I understood. "Is that a challenge, Blondie?"

"Well, I am a _Chase_ after all."

"Excuse me!" the impatient driver said. "Sorry to break up your little reunion here, but I still need my three-hundred bu—"

"Oh my, God, what happened there?" Thalia pointed at the front end of the taxi without explanation.

Diane nasally sighed and muttered something to herself about not getting paid enough to put up with this. "What are you talking about?"

"This." Thalia took a few steps closer. "This dent here."

With a huff, Diane, got out of the taxi and wrapped around the front end. "What dent? There's no dents on _my_ car." _Car_, I said to myself as a word to remember.

Annabeth interlaced her fingers with mine and started to slide towards me. "Could you keep up with any of that?" she whispered.

"Right there, on the bumper."

"Nope," I admitted.

"I don't see anything." Diane tilted her head to all angles.

"Alrighty then. At least try to keep up with me." She told me to switch seats with her so she could see when Thaila gave her the signal.

"You kind of have to look at it from this side," Thalia told the confused and highly frustrated driver. "Like...here: stand where I am." Diane took Thalia's place so her back was almost totally facing us. "Do you see it now?" Thalia took a quick peek back at Annabeth and smirked.

With that, Annabeth very _very _slowly started opening the car door and slid out without making a sound. She tip-toed over to the grass then motioned me to come. Just as she did, I quietly started to slip out. "Oh!" Diane's outburst made my blood pressure rise about four-hundred notches and a million fake excuses went through my head of why we were out of the taxi. _We needed to stretch. We thought we heard our parents calling for us and we just wanted to see what they wanted. We really had to pee._ I was pretty good at excuses. But much to our relief, her attention stayed on the front end. "I think I see it now. It was these damn kids playing soccer who kicked a ball into the street and it bounced onto my car!"

I left the door open so it wouldn't squeak anymore and I joined Annabeth on the grass. She took my hand. "To the other end of the field. On my mark..."

"I'm telling you, I'm going to make them pay for it!" Thalia agreed and slowly backed up so she stood next to us.

"Get set..." she added once she was next to me.

Diane grumbled something to herself and put her hands on her hips. Her eyes never left the imaginary dent. "Kids these days. Not only do they have no respect for adults but they _forget money for a taxi cab_." She turned her attention back to the now empty back seat then whipped her head to meet our gazes. Her scowl had matching daggers now. "HEY!"

I jumped. "Go!" And the three of us took off into the fields.


End file.
